The Pain of Love
by AthenaRosen
Summary: 3 year ago Itachi and Sakura had secret meetings and fell in love, he left her broken hearted and alone so what happens when they meet again? - Short Story although if reviews like it, i may make a sequel
1. The Meeting

He had noticed her as soon as she walked in. Her black dress showing just enough for curiosity to set in and her pink hair curled to perfection bouncing as she walked. He watched her walk to the bar and the way her red lips captured the straw of her drink. Every male's attention was upon her and either she hadn't noticed or feigned indifference. He noticed her eyes glance around the room as in searching someone out and saw her eyes widen and her lips part slightly at the sight of him.

A smirk graced his lips as he saw her surprise and she quickly schooled her features into a smile as her thoughts were still as jumbled mess.

She saw him walk up to her and tried to calm her frantic heart beat as he drew closer. He looked just as he had three years ago, except this time he was in a suit instead of his usual ninja attire.

He wanted to laugh out loud as he saw her change her look of surprise into a smile he knew would have lesser men falling over her feet. But he still saw the panic in her eyes as he made his way over to her, he still didn't know what drove him to seek her out but he couldn't stop himself. He was as powerless when it came to her as he was all those years ago.

She hadn't changed that much since their last meeting, her hair was a lot longer than before but it was her eyes that had changed. They looked at him with caution flecked with distrust, and it made his heart squeeze when he thought at how different the emotions he could elicit from them 3 years ago were.

'Sakura, what brings you here hmm?' he asked, making her skin goose bump and memories flood her mind. Taking a deep breath and trying to sound more confident and sexy than she felt at the moment she faced him with a smile.

'I could ask you the same thing Itachi-san' she replied, mentally congratulating herself for not falling at his feet as a pool of mush, begging for answers.

He tried not to flinch at the –san she had added to his name, it sounded so formal and distant, but what did he expect.

'Business unfortunately' he replied not taking his eyes of her as he flagged the barman and ordered a drink for himself.

'Very unfortunate' she replied as she noticed her target being led into a private booth by her best friend Ino. 'And on that note I'm afraid I am going to have to leave you as my business has just arrived.'

And with that she hoped off the barstool, squeezed his arm and gave him a nervous smile and made her way to the private booth.

He watched her move away from him as he downed his drink and though back to the last time he saw her.

The image still haunted him, her red rimmed eyes with tears pooling from them as she begged him not to leave, the way she grasped his arm as he tried to leave. His heart breaking at what he had to do in order to protect her, begging her with his eyes to understand. But most of all was the heart wrenching sounds that were coming from their apartment as he left her.

With a shake of his head he cleared all Sakura related thoughts as he focussed on the job at hand. Leaving the money for the drink on the counted he headed to the private office where muffled cried could already be heard coming from inside. With a sigh he entered the office to remind his partner their job was to get information not kill the guy.


	2. Restoring Hope

Sakura pulled the curtain back and stepped in the private booth. She slowly turned around with an alluring smile on her face she took in the man before her. He was in his late 40s, with a bald head and a round middle, his face was red and his hand was behind Ino trying to pull her onto his lap.

'Mr Watanabe I presume.' Sakura asked as she saw the man turn towards her, first with a look of outrage at being disturbed but then delight as he drank in his visitor.

'Depends whose looking sweetheart, who are you?' He asked

Sakura supressed a shudder as his eyes raked over her.

'I'm her sister, and I didn't want her to have all the fun.' She replied as she walked slowly up to him and straddled him.

She had to hold her breath as his stench, combining tobacco and alcohol, hit her.

'Well now Miri, you didn't tell me how good looking you sister was' He chuckled, wrapping his arms around Sakura.

Sakura looked to her right and saw Ino give a nod. Slowly she brought her hands up to wrap around his neck and after finding the right place, pressed his pressure point which made Mr Watanabe slump.

'My god what a creep, he grabbed my boobs like three times! I nearly punched him out cold' Ino said with a pout.

Sakura smiled at her best friend and tugged on the rope at the side. Two ANBU dropped from above and took their victim after nodding to Sakura and Ino.

'Glad it went smoothly though, fancy finishing the champagne off? Would be a shame to waste it.' Ino giggled as she poured out two glasses without waiting for Sakura's response.

As if only just remembering her friend hadn't spoken the entire time, Ino looked up at Sakura with concern written on her face.

'You ok forehead? You look close to tears?' Ino asked grabbing Sakura by the wrist and pulling her down onto the sofa.

'Itachi' Sakura said as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

'What about that snake?' Ino asked pulling Sakura into a hug.

'He's here.' She eventually managed.

After a dramatic gasp from Ino she saw her friend move towards the curtain.

'What are you doing?' Sakura hissed worried Itachi might see her friend ogling at him.

'I want to see if Mr tall dark and handsome, is still here' Ino said fighting off Sakura's attempts to drag back into the booth.

'You're supposed to be sprouting hateful things about him to make me feel better not trying to get a glimpse at him.' She shot back as Ino giggled at her friend's expression.

'If I did that you would just defend him so why bother, plus I saw the way he looked at you earlier' Ino replied wiggling her eyebrows.

'You knew he was here?' Sakura asked although the question she really wanted to ask was about the way he looked at her.

'I saw him as I led the creep here and my god my knees went week.' Ino shook her legs and fell back into the comfy sofa, fanning herself dramatically.

Rolling he eyes Sakura pinched her friend getting her attention once more.

'I'll tell Kiba.' Sakura shot back as Ino snorted.

'Oh don't worry, I know Ita-chan's your man' Ino said with a smug glance at Sakura.

Dropping her head into her heads Sakura let out a groan at her friend. The worst part was that Ino was correct; if they had bad mouthed him she would have stood up for him. She had to admit that seeing him again had made all her old feelings for him resurface and it was the undying love that had nestled its way back into her heart.

'What do I do Ino?' Sakura asked, almost afraid to ask.

With a sly grin Ino turned to look at her friend.

'You march up to him take him by the hand, drag him to your hotel room, demand an explanation about what happened 3 years ago and then either have sweet make up sex or good bye sex.'

Sakura turned bright red at her friend's outrageous idea as well as the memories that surfaced.

'Ino! I can't do that I mean he left me! And now you want me to just waltz up to him like none of that happened?' she exclaimed getting even more frustrated with Ino's knowing look.

'Admit it, you're tempted'

'Yes! I mean no! I mean I'm tempted to get the answers out of him but I don't want that part of our relationship again.' Sakura replied hoping Ino couldn't hear the voice in her head calling her liar.

'Pfft, Sakura who are you trying to fool huh? You are still as madly in love with him as that day you came to me gushing about him' Ino raised her eyebrow as if daring Sakura to refute the claims and a smile of victory graced her mouth as she saw Sakura's shoulders slump in defeat.

'He tossed me aside Ino, I don't think I can get over it just like that. Plus he's Akatsuki and I'm a leaf ninja, it would never work.' Her voice broke on as fresh tears began to leave their mark on her face.

'How do you know that's not the reason he left?' Ino asked quietly

'What do you mean?'

'He might have left so you wouldn't have to choose between your life, friends and family or him' Ino replied looking at her friend with a sad smile on her face.

Sakura's eyes widened as her thoughts and emotions dipped and rose like a rollercoaster. Could it be true? Could he actually love me and loved me so much he didn't want me to make a decision he knew would make me unhappy?

Ino watched an array of emotions show on her friends face and nearly jumped for joy when it settled on hope.

'I'm going to talk to him!' Sakura answered and went to get up only to be pulled back down by Ino.

'Not like that you're not' Ino muttered as she pulled out her make up bag.


	3. The Decision

'Sakura huh?' Kisame asked glancing at his friend and just catching the nod 'Wow, how longs it been?'

'3 years' Itachi replied, downing his drink and ordering another.

'You still love her huh?' His partner grinned.

'Hn' was the only reply Kisame got.

'Then do something about it?' Kisame said as he took another sip of his drink.

'I can't, I refuse to take that risk, look what happened with you and Hana' Itachi countered watching as pain flitted across his partners face.

'Sakura isn't Hana, she will be able to look after herself.' Kisame replied after a while and sighed when he saw the look of unrelenting determination on Itachi's face.

Kisame went back to his drink but by chance looked up and saw the topic of their conversation walk towards them. With a whistle he turned to Itachi 'Well I'm off, see you in the morning and think about what I said' and with that he left the bar knowing he would be seeing Hana in his dreams tonight.

Itachi was about to follow him when he saw Sakura walk towards him. His heart leapt at the sight of her, she looked amazing he couldn't deny that. Every other guy realised this as well and their eyes followed her which made his jealousy meter jump through the roof.

'We need to talk' She said looking at him with a blush just visible on her pale neck that made him want to reach down and kiss it to see if it spread. Pulling himself together he paid the bar tender and motioned for her to lead.

With a deep breath she opened the door to her hotel room. It had been the most awkward walk over here. Not one word was spoken and the elevator ride had been nearly insufferable, she could have easily cut the tension that hung in the air with a knife.

He was aware of every movement she made as they walked into the room. The way she turned red at the sight of the huge bed which seemed to dominate to room and added to the tension. The way she excused herself for a moment and practically ran to the bathroom and the deep breaths he could hear coming from in there as she tried to calm herself.

The room suddenly got to stuffy and after losing his jacket decided to get rid of his tie. As he put them over the edge of the bed he noticed something sticking out from under the pillow. After moving close he realised it was a picture, of them. It was taken when they had been at their happiness, not thinking about what would happen if anyone found out, not worrying about the future, just living in the now. Sakura was wearing a blue sundress and was smiling at the camera with Itachi's arms wrapped around her wearing a rare smile.

It had been 3 years since he had smiled like that and knew that he would never do again without the woman in the bathroom. But remembering why he couldn't have her sent a pain through his chest he welcomed as a distraction.

With a click the door opened and Sakura took a shaky breath before she entered the room again. She paused when she saw he had lost his jacket and tie and had to supress the blush than came from the images her betraying mind were producing.

'I need to know what happened Itachi' She asked, her eyes sad as she brought them to his face.

'It wouldn't of worked Sakura, you know that' He replied looking at the floor.

'You loved me didn't you?' She asked wishing he would just look at her.

'Of course I did, but I couldn't ask you to choose Sakura, I love you too much to put you through that.' His voice sounded strange and when Sakura moved closer she saw unshed tears in his eyes.

'I would have made that choice, for you, for us'

And with that Sakura pressed her mouth to Itachi's mouth, revelling in the feel of his arms encircling her. He was quick to respond, nibbling her bottom lip which made her moan in response.

He swept her into his arms not breaking the kiss and placed her gently on the bed as she tangled her fingers into his hair. And with a blissful sigh they showed each other just how much they meant to one another.

The morning light streamed through the curtains and woke Sakura up much to her chagrin. She moved over slightly to warm up against Itachi when she encountered an empty space. Sakura bolted up right to confirm her suspicions that he was not in the room.

'Itachi?' She called out waiting for an answer to put her fears at ease but as the seconds passed not a sound could be heard.

A strangled sob escaped Sakura as realization dawned on her. She looked to the space where not hours ago Itachi had laid, making her feel loved and safe, now it just made her pain real. She saw a note resting on the pillow and tried to make out the words through the tears.

My Dearest Sakura,

You have no idea how much It pains me to do this again. Last night, as great as it was, should not have happened and for my weakness I can only apologize. You must hate me and for that I do not and could not blame you but I must make you understand why I had to do this. The Akatsuki were getting suspicious of me leaving constantly and I could not put you in danger like that as they would see you as a distraction they could not afford. I also could not ask you to leave you friends and family for a life on the run with me. We would be hunted on all sides if we tried and I love you too much to put you through that since you deserve much more. I wish you every happiness my love.

Forever Yours,

Itachi.

With a strangled sob Sakura let the hurt and pain overcome her as she hugged the note. She didn't want to see the truth in his words she knew she must. She had a life to lead and as much as it pained her it didn't involve Itachi anymore.


End file.
